


Amo Sic Pereo

by darknessdistraction



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Best Friends, Conspiracy Theories, Crime Fighting, Epic Friendship, F/F, F/M, Female Homosexuality, Fights, Friendship, Homosexuality, Love, Madness, Mental Health Issues, Protectiveness, Rebellion, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:48:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27152725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darknessdistraction/pseuds/darknessdistraction
Summary: Picking up homeless, criminal teenagers from the streets to give them a new home and a job as FBI agents? Sounds great, right?No, Johanna thinks it sucks. After all the years, she has figured out higher goals of hers than risking her life over and over again. But she can't leave, not yet. Because this job is the only way to ever rediscover her lover who has been missing for three years now.After that, she's gonna blow up this whole thing and run.----Disclaimer: The town of Mayfield, the FBI in this city including its projects, as well as the Hanging Tree, are entirely fictional. Any similarities to real cities or organizations are random - sure, the FBI exists, but this is not how it works in real life. THIS IS A FICTIONAL FBI.Enjoy!Title is Latin and means "I love, therefore I go down".
Relationships: Cressida/Johanna Mason, Johanna Mason & Finnick Odair, Katniss Everdeen/Johanna Mason, Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Agent Seven

"Do we know why we are here?"

Johanna tilted her head to the side, darting a questioning glance at Finnick. He sat on the chair right besides her, staring at her cluelessly. "Well, I obviously can't tell what you know, but no, I don't know why we are here."

Finnick exhaled loudly as if to show how exhausting talking to Johanna was. "This was exactly what I meant and you _know_ it."

"I like it when you suffer."

Finnick smirked and his friend reflected his expression. Teasing each other was one of the few things that kept them alive in this cold, sterile building. When nothing felt like home, at least laughing at Finnick did.

Most definitely, Finnick Odair was the only person that Johanna trusted by now. Her early life in the streets of Washington had taught her to usually mistrust people, never give them too much information and even less love. This had kept her safe, but it also kept her cold. Finnick changed that when they slowly became friends in the recruitment center, a flighty, easy-going boy who kept smiling even in his darkest days. They formed the perfect duo, and later, when Katniss joined the team, the perfect trio.

But Katniss wasn't there anymore, and so Finnick was the only one left.

Johanna swallowed down her anger that always rose when she thought about Katniss. One time, Finnick had asked her if it wouldn't be helpful if she gave herself space to mourn, but Johanna was quite sure about rage being a better emotion than grief. Also, mourning was for people who had really lost someone, and she refused to believe that Katniss was dead.

At least, she was way too good at her job. Maybe the best. Johanna could remember exactly how impressed she had been when they took her to the targets for the first time. A small, slender figure, almost seeming a little frail, but her shooting skills were incredible. She fired like she was born for it, and when the first bullet had hit the target, there had been something wild in her eyes.

Johanna just couldn't imagine how someone could overpower those wild eyes. Katniss must've been somewhere out there, even if it was three years now, even if they said she was unlikely to be found.

The door swung open and a man entered the room. His facial expressions were blank, the first thing you would probably recognize about him was the intricate, heavily styled design of his beard. Johanna had always thought that it didn't fit an agent, but in the end, everyone here seemed to be at least a little crazy, and that was why it was fine.

"Agent Seven", he said, the motivating voice absolutely not matching his face. "Agent Four. It's a pleasure to see you."

Finnick smiled at him and returned the greetings, but Johanna knew that both of them were just being polite and so she just rolled her eyes. "Why are we here, Agent Crane?"

Crane's fake smile faded. He had never liked her, and she wasn't going to change that very soon - mostly, because she wasn't interested in faking being friendly.

"I see, you're not wasting any time, Seven. _As always._ "

Johanna laughed dryly. "Why should I? The sooner we get this conversation done, the sooner I can get the job done."

A sly smile spread on Crane's face as he sat down at the other side of the table, facing Finnick and Johanna, and folded his hands. "It almost sounds like you would like to leave, Seven. Fortunately, we both know that you wouldn't do that, considering how much you owe us, _right_?"

Johanna evaluated her options, but before she could consider telling the bitter truth, Finnick pinched her leg under the table, and so she just smiled and replied: "Yes."

"Good, because if you tried to leave, Director Snow would get you killed for sure." Crane laughed.

Everybody in the room knew that this wasn't a joke, even if they acted like it was. Mister Snow had been leading the FBI for years by now, and he was a cruel man. He rarely showed up in the training centers or at meetings, but he pulled the strings behind the scenes and his words were commands. Recruiting criminal stray kids from the streets and turning them into agents, based on their already existing skills and cruelty, had been his idea too. He picked them up when they were at their worst, told them he saw their potential and made them machines.

The project was still running, and it seemed to work out great. The media had been widely discussing and falling in love with the "Victors" which was how the director called his recruits. Johanna, still, didn't feel like victory at all. _Victims_ would've been a far better name, considering the mental and physical violence that was part of the training.

"I assume we are here because there's a new job", Finnick spoke up.

Crane turned towards him, casually leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. "Very true. We called you here to tell you about it, because we figured you'd be quite... _interested_ in this case."

 _I lost all of my interest in this thing about ten years ago_ , Johanna thought, but she didn't say anything.

Crane seemed to wait for them asking about what the job included, but as nobody spoke up, he decided to just continue talking. "So, we found out that in the town of Mayfield, an organization of conspiracy theorists has formed. They believe that the FBI and other governmental services are actually suppressing and spying on people and that we are dangerous to their freedom." He smiled, the arrogant expression of a man who believed himself to be way better than this. "They call themselves the _Hanging Tree_."

Finnick frowned. "That's completely weird. Are they hanging people? When do we live, medieval ages? Like, seriously, how creepy can a name possibly be."

Johanna couldn't help but smile at her friend's comment. He always kept his humour, even after everything that happened to them. Of course, at some times it was quite annoying, but most of the time she perceived it as refreshing.

But she had more questions than wondering about the organization's name.

"And what exactly is it with these _Hanging Tree_ guys? From what you just said, they are only conspiracy theorists. They can't be important enough to call us", Johanna took a quick glance at her watch, " _11 P.M._ "

Crane cleared his throat. "Actually, yes, they can. From what Agent Five has priorly find out, we assume the organization is run by a woman named Alma Coin. We already know her name from previous missions. Coin is responsible for about a dozen murders, mass instigation and illegal arms traffic." He exhaled loudly. "Still, we never could find the person herself, it only was a name we connected to small gang activities and hate speech. Now that she formed a bigger organization with more structure, she might be found more easily. But this newfound structure makes her more dangerous, too."

Finnick opened his mouth to say something, but Agent Crane dismissed him with a small gesture. "We also, and this is why we called for you, have reason to believe that Coin is the person holding Agent Twelve hostage."

A shiver ran down Johanna's spine, and all out of a sudden she felt like she couldn't breathe. Strong hands seemed to clench about her throat, and she lost control about her muscles, effectlessly opening and closing her mouth.

_Katniss. Katniss. Katniss lives._

Johanna felt Finnick's hand resting on her back, trying to steady her from what was quite close to a mental breakdown, but it didn't help very much. She could only think of Katniss and that she was out there, like Johanna always had tried to tell people, alive, in need of help. _In danger._

"I will do it", she said and even if she tried to keep her voice strong, it sounded shakily and flat.

Crane grimaced, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, Agent Seven, but you're actually only here because we thought it would be important for you to know what your partner", he gave Finnick a slight nod, "is doing. We wanted to send Agent Four into this because he is not as..." He paused. "As _involved_ as you."

Johanna ground her teeth. _Involved. That's what they call it now._ She knew, for sure, that it wasn't good if her superiors knew about her weaknesses. Still, when she fell for Katniss, she was way too young to understand those connections. To understand how people could hurt her or exclude her from important missions just because they knew that she had _feelings_.

But there was still one thing that was more important than herself not being able to go and find Katniss. They wanted to send Finnick into the job because they thought he didn't feel like she did, and Johanna was the only person who knew it wasn't true.

Finnick was good at keeping his love life private, and so he had told nobody about Annie Cresta. Nobody but Johanna and Katniss, of course. He had told nobody how he had met the redhead in the streets and how they formed a bond, fell in love and entered a relationship. He hadn't told them that Annie was the love of his life, and he hadn't told them that he had promised her to marry her "when all of this is over".

In Johanna's eyes, she couldn't be sure that she would have kind of a happy ending herself, but she could at least try to keep Finnick's.

"No!", she blurted out before she could think about it. Crane looked just as confused as Finnick did.

"Is there anything that would make you doubt Agent Four's competences to get this job done?"

Johanna inhaled deeply. Finnick was the best spy she knew, and if he got in a fight, he was skilled enough to win it too. The answer was obvious.

"No, nothing."

Crane smiled. "I get that you are worried about losing your partner. This is reasonable. But it is only a spying mission. We don't want Agent Four to fight anyone as this is not his job and we don't have enough information yet. He will just collect insider information about Coin so that we can prepare to send a special unit afterwards."

 _Which you won't let me be a part of, for sure,_ Johanna thought to herself.

Finnick cleared his throat. "I think she just wants to go because of her connection to Agent Twelve", he tried to explain. "And I understand that. I would totally take her with me, if that is okay."

Johanna didn't even try to explain that she didn't want to come with him but to go without him, keeping him safe so that Annie wouldn't lose him. If this Coin person was as dangerous as Crane had described her, she wouldn't want Finnick to get in this.

Crane stared at her with piercing eyes, as if he wanted to look right into her soul, and Johanna couldn't help but think it was extremely creepy.

"Agent Seven, if I send Agent Four on this mission alone and tell you to stay you here, would you sneak out of the building as soon as nobody sees you and follow him on your own?"

Johanna smirked. They might not be the nicest superiors, but at least they knew her.

"Absolutely, yes."

Crane sighed and out of the corner of her eye, Johanna could see Finnick rubbing his temples nervously.

"I almost thought so", Crane admitted. "In this case, I'd have to send you out as a team in order to keep you safe. We don't want anybody to get in danger and if you go, Seven, you will at least go with our protection."

Johanna had never felt protected being on a mission, but she decided that this was the very wrong thing to talk about now.

"Thank you", was everything she said.

Crane got up from slowly, the metal chair screeching on the white tiles when it was pushed back on the floor. "We don't know in which state Agent Twelve is right now which is why Mister Snow declared this mission highest priority. We already prepared weapons, a secret identity and everything else that you will need. The mission starts tomorrow at seven, so I suppose you would want to get some sleep."

Finnick and Johanna stood up synchronously, shaking Agent Crane's hand as a farewell and murmuring words of "Good night " and "Thank you, Sir". Their minds were way too occupied for more courtesies, and thankfully, Crane didn't mind it.

Both Finnick and Johanna kept silent when they walked down the aisle and got into the elevator that took them to their floor. Johanna thought about Katniss and what she would do to this Coin person as soon as she had found her, and Finnick probably thought about Annie and if he was leaving her for the last time right now.

 _"When we find Katniss, we'll leave this place."_ They had said these words so often that they almost lost their meaning. But now, there was a real chance to find Katniss, and suddenly Johanna wasn't sure about their plan anymore. Snow would never let them go without a fight, not three of his best agents, and they could barely win against all of the people he controlled.

_Have I been a naive dumbass all the time?_

Just when Johanna wanted to start discussing this problem with herself, they arrived at their room and Finnick opened the door for her to get in. The room was broad and cold, like everything else in the building, and as much string lights and plants as Finnick tried to hoard, it never started to feel like home. The huge glass front offering a view of Washington and the sterile metal furniture screamed wealth and power, but definitely not comfort and privacy.

Of course, Johanna could've slept in her own room. But all the sleeping rooms were identical, so it wouldn't feel better, and moreover, she couldn't sleep in there. Even if everyone told her that it wasn't possible after three years, Johanna still felt like her bed smelled like Katniss, and she couldn't bare that. Over the years Finnick had just started to accept that Johanna snuck into this room at night being haunted by insomnia, and at some point she didn't even try to sleep in her own bed anymore.

Finnick turned his back towards Johanna so that she could get into more comfortable clothing. By now, he should've known that she was absolutely fine with anyone seeing her naked body; Johanna knew what she had and she wasn't afraid showing it. Still, he was polite enough to not cross those borders. Their friendship was based on being completely asexual, mostly because Johanna was a lesbian and Finnick knew about it.

She stretched out on her side of the bed and got comfortable while Finnick fiddled his phone out of his pocket. Of course, not his FBI phone - the secret prepaid phone that he kept just to communicate with Annie. Calling her with his work phone would've been too dangerous. The agents didn't know if they were being watched or tapped, but considering the director's obsession with power, it was a possibility.

"Hey, Annie", Johanna heard Finnick say and she smiled as his voice got soft and warm. "I'm so sorry that I'm being so late today, I had-" He paused. "Oh my, you didn't have to stay awake and wait for my call. Just go to bed if you are tired, please. We can postpone this." Another pause. "No? Okay."

Johanna closed her eyes and listened to Finnick quietly talking to Annie and wandering around in the room. To the sound of his footsteps and low voice, she finally fell asleep.


	2. News

Johanna's watch showed four when she was awoken by the most annoying _beep beep beep_ noises ever created. She groaned loudly, not even trying to hide her disapproval, and rolled over. "When will you finally get a new alarm sound? This one eats through my eardrums and kills me from the inside."

"My room, my alarm", Finnick mumbled, pulling his blanket over his head.

Johanna got up from the bed and ripped the blanket out of his hand, letting it fall on the ground. It was the only way to get her friend out of bed this early, especially after long nights like these. She couldn't even say how long he had talked to Annie, but when Johanna had been awoken by a nightmare at about 2 A.M., Finnick had still been occupied with his phone.

"Come on, get up. We need to get some coffee."

"With sugar."

Johanna rolled her eyes at her friend's obsession with sweets. "Yeah, but only if you get up now, or there will be no sugar left in the canteen because you're fucking late."

She headed to the bathroom attached to their room to wash herself. A shower would've been the fastest solution, of course, but Johanna didn't use running water _ever_. Finnick was the only one who knew why, she hadn't even told Katniss about it.

_What happens in the showers of the training center, remains in the showers of the training center, I guess._

Stifling a yawn, Johanna got into her clothes and tied her hair back in a ponytail. From the other side of the door, she could hear Finnick plodding around, maybe searching for his shoes in the chaos of their room, and she hurried up.

Finnick was already dressed when she left the bathroom and only got in to style his hair. Johanna decided to use the time for going through her plan once again. Finnick was a little obsessed with his hair and even if he usually wore it in a messy out-of-bed-look, it took an incredible amount of time to style it like that.

While lying awake for some time during the last night, Johanna had decided that she would find and free Katniss, no matter what her supervisors told her. She knew that the mission didn't include any fights or liberations, but she wouldn't wait for that. Katniss was probably endangered, and if it was Johanna herself, she wouldn't have wanted her peers to waste any time getting her out of that situation.

Sure, Snow and the others would not be happy to see Johanna work on her own, but it was worth it. At least, she had absolutely nothing to lose right now.

Johanna was also quite sure about Finnick knowing what she wanted to do. After more than ten years, he knew her well enough to understand that she wouldn't sit in a dumb hotel room and wait for a SWAT team to take the revenge that was _hers_. She was trained to fight people, so why not doing it now? And she could count on Finnick's help, because even if he should've stayed here for the sake of Annie Cresta, he wouldn't let her do this on her own.

When her friend finally left the bathroom, his hair looking ridiculously perfect as it always did, Johanna got up from the bed and followed him out of the room. They walked silently, until Finnick asked: "Do you think we are safe doing this thing?"

Johanna suppressed a snarky smile. "No, absolutely not."

"Good, because if you did, I'd question your sanity."

She smiled at him, appreciating how he cared about Johanna maybe being too careless when it came to this special mission. If he was someone else, she might have perceived it as outraging, but when Finnick did it, it was an act of friendship that she cherished.

Her smile faded as they nearly ran into Agent One and his sister. Johanna didn't particularly like them, even if she knew that they all were victims of the same cruelties.

"Finnick", the buff man gave him a slight nod, totally ignoring Johanna.

"Gloss. Cashmere."

Gloss' smile was so subtle that it was barely visible. "Heard you got a new mission. There's rumours that it's something about our missing agent."

He didn't ask, but it was obvious that they wanted the details. Johanna ground her teeth, desperately trying not to make a fist and punch this guy. He had never been impolite or harsh, but he also didn't stand up for finding Katniss when she had gone missing. In fact, no one did but Finnick and Johanna, and she was still mad about it.

"We don't know much more about this than you guys do", Finnick replied, keeping his charming smile like he always did. He could make conversation with everyone, and could make everyone like him, and didn't even make an effort. Johanna was still impressed by someone being that friendly, mostly because she felt disgusted by people.

Gloss opened his mouth to say something, but Cashmere pinched his arm and smiled at them. "Well then. I hope you're gonna come back."

The siblings turned around and walked down the halls, leaving Finnick and Johanna on their own. When they had disappeared in their room, Johanna bursted out.

" _I hope you're gonna come back_? Is she serious? How much of an asshole can someone be?"

Finnick smirked as he pressed the button of the elevator which would take them to the canteen. " _You_ are that much of an asshole, Johanna."

She shrugged. "Yeah, but this is different. People like me."

"You think that."

She ignored his comment with grace, knowing that he was just joking around and that her way of being an asshole was definitely different. It was the good kind of asshole, the sexy kind of being bad. Johanna had developed that behavior by choice, and she liked to use it.

They got into the elevator and Johanna waited patiently for them to arrive at the basement where the canteen was. As she saw Finnick grinning at her, she frowned. "What?"

He winked at her. "Nothing. Just glad that you let go of your weird elevator habit."

She poked his ribs and didn't even try to be soft. "Finnick, that was one time!"

"I am sorry, but you literally got undressed in the damn elevator!"

Johanna rolled her eyes, trying to keep cool and not to show that she was a little embarrassed about this impulsive act. "It was one time, and I wanted her to like me."

Finnick laughed as the elevator came to a stop and signalized with a quiet "beep" that they should get out. "Johanna, there are so many ways to make a person like you and you choose undressing right in front of her. You might understand that I can't stop making fun of that."

Johanna mumbled something that Finnick wasn't supposed to understand, and ignored his smirk as they got in the canteen. Some of the other agents were sitting at a table talking about basic stuff, trying not to choke at the disgusting canteen food. Johanna already felt like throwing up when she saw the bread that probably wasn't even bread, considering how it tasted like an old cleaning rag. She had never understood how the FBI could be so extremely rich and still not invest in f*cking food.

The others barely looked up when Johanna and Finnick entered the room. It was fine as everyone in this building tended to stick to their closest confidants, like Johanna would stick to Finnick and Gloss would stick to Cashmere. It was probably the only way to really survive this hell. Even if you wanted to try, you couldn't do it alone.

Finnick got his ration of breakfast and, surprisingly, sat down besides Agent Eight. Johanna wasn't really into talking to anyone and had planned to stay away from the other agents, but still, she stayed by Finnick's side and sat down opposite him.

Johanna quickly figured out that Two and Five were talking about the new firearms that Three had designed, and just as quickly lost interest. Even before she had been recruited by the FBI, she had known that knives were her weapon, and no shotgun in the world would ever reach the feeling of throwing a knife.

Finnick cleared his throat and turned towards Eight. "So, Cecelia... How you been lately? Didn't see you in the training center at all."

That was the truth, but Johanna hadn't been that confused by it. Some years ago, Cecelia had been going through a tragedy that no one even dared to speak about, and it was quite visible that there wasn't any will to survive left inside of her. She didn't show up to training sessions, prepared for her jobs only superficially, and was probably waiting to die on a mission one day.

Johanna absolutely got that one. It had been a traumatic day to all of them, making a cruel example about what happened if you wouldn't stick to the rules. Johanna could still hear the voice saying _I'm sorry, but there is no place for raising a child right here,_ and she could also hear Cecelia's screams, stifled at first, then getting louder, more desperate, until Johanna was afraid the whole country could hear her scream.

Of course, she had no children of her own and didn't plan to change this, so she couldn't really understand what Cecelia had been going through, but it was just _so scary_. No one even knew what they had done to the baby after taking it away.

Over the years, they had just gotten used to Cecelia's new attitude - the total loss of interest in anything; reduced affects, the only real emotion being grief; a pale face without any expression. It was something that they faced everyday when seeing her, and even if it was never fine, it was normal by now. The only change was that in the last weeks Finnick had developed an awkwardly high interest in Cecelia's life. He seemed to suddenly care about what she felt and how she lived with her trauma. Johanna wasn't sure how that had happened, considering the fact that Finnick wasn't connected to the topic either - at least he had no children or-

_Oh no._

Johanna jumped up from her seat, almost knocking over her cup of coffee. It was such a sudden movement that even Agent Two who, just like Johanna herself, never really showed interest in other people, looked up from her food.

"Johanna, what-" Finnick couldn't finish his sentence as his friend grabbed for his wrist, pulling him up and out of this friend. "Johanna, what the f*ck are you doing!"

It wasn't until they were back on the floor that Johanna finally answered. Carefully keeping her voice as low as possible and staying away from curious eyes, she stopped in the stairwell and reproachfully glared at Finnick.

"Finnick Odair, would you mind telling me why I didn't know about your girlfriend's pregnancy?"

Finnick's face dropped, he obviously hadn't expected Johanna to realize what had been happening. She saw it as winning, but it didn't help the situation.

"We literally are on our way to risk our lives by fighting a conspiracy theorist with a soft spot for arms traffic and weird names. You will have no ally but me, Finnick, you should have _told_ me!"

Johanna tried to keep it professional, being reasonable, with relevant arguments based on their mission. The truth was that she was personally hurt about her best friend not telling her about such an important thing, but she wouldn't tell him about that. It definitely wasn't that important right now - they could discuss it after the mission, if they survived.

"It scares me, Johanna. I didn't know how to tell you because I don't know how to deal with it myself. If someone finds out, they will kill both of them. You know that."

There was an unmistakable bitterness in his voice that hurt Johanna on the inside. He was honestly afraid about his family being torn apart and about him being the cause, and she had only thought about herself.

_This day just doesn't get any better._

Johanna sighed. "Okay, look. I'm sorry. I shouldn't blame you, you have enough problems. But still, I should've known. Finnick, you'll be a father. You have highest priority now."

Finnick shook his head violently. "No, Katniss has highest priority. We always planned it like that. We will go and find Katniss and-"

Johanna punched his shoulder and even if she knew that he could take it, Finnick flinched. "Yes, of course we will find Katniss. I will take care of that. I'd just like you to try stay in the background as much as you can. Don't put yourself in danger when you don't have to."

Finnick exhaled loudly, leaning back against the wall as if he needed to steady himself. Which was absolutely understandable to Johanna as they were just making decisions that could make the difference between life and death.

"Okay", he replied finally, but his voice was low and shakily. "But if you are in danger, I won't-"

"Yes, you will", Johanna interrupted. "You will stay back and let me go if you have to. I can't go back to this place and tell your future child that I'm responsible for them never being able to meet their daddy. Did you understand that?"

She meant what she said, and at this point it definitely wasn't a joke anymore. This was about a child, and Finnick knew just as well as Johanna how it felt, growing up without someone having your back, and wondering every night how it would feel having a father.

Johanna didn't like kids that much, but never in the world would she let something like this happen to Finnick's child.

She sighed. "Also, congratulations, man. You're going to be a father."

A slight smile spread on Finnick's face. "Thank you."

Johanna wanted to say something else about the new situation, but they heard a door swinging open on the first floor and footsteps got louder and louder. Finnick stepped away from the wall, and unlocked his phone, acting like he was casually showing something to Johanna.

"Agent Four, Agent Seven."

The voice was cold and emotionless, just like you would expect it from a man looking like Romulus Thread. Hard facial features on rutted skin made it seem like he always furrowed his eyebrows, and that was almost the truth, as he always found something to be upset about. Johanna was quite sure that Thread had just become an agent because of some power complex, because he wanted to hurt people and because he wanted to feel stronger than others. He was sadistic and he had a nasty weakness for Mister Snow - always trying to enforce his rules.

Johanna was disgusted by just seeing him.

"Agent Thread", she said, nevertheless, Finnick just giving a nod and murmuring something. Thread answered with a sly smile, looking like a snake that had just spotted its prey. He definitely thought that Finnick's mood was caused by the upcoming mission.

Johanna and Finnick kept up his illusion.

"Are you nervous?", Thread asked, still smiling, obviously wanting them to give an affirming answer. He wanted to hear about how much the mission scared them, and Johanna hated him for those sadistic tendencies. "I mean, this is a big thing, you know. We've been after Alma Coin for _years_. I am suprised they didn't choose... _better agents._ "

Johanna ground her teeth, clenching her fists, being only one step away from breaking Thread's nose. She felt Finnick rubbing her back in gentle circles, obviously trying to calm her down.

"Well, we are Victors. We are two of the most skilled agents in this organization." Finnick smiled and once again Johanna wondered how he could keep his face so calm and charming when it came to such assholes. "Or would you doubt Mister Snow's competence of choosing the right agent for a mission?"

Now it was Thread who didn't have words, and Johanna could see the rage in his squinted eyes. Finnick had touched his weakness. Never in the world would Agent Thread stand against his superior. He was a cruel sadist, but he was also a sycophant.

"Sure", he finally hissed through clenched teeth and Johanna suppressed a triumphant smile. "May the odds be in your favor, Agents."

Before he turned away, he gave Finnick a slight nod. "I think you're expected in the lab."

The young man frowned. "Why?"

Thread's shrug was barely visible but still condescending. "Is this my job or yours, Blondie? From what I know, Three has prepared weapons for the case of you having to defend yourself." A wry smile spread on his face. "But please, ignore it. We won't miss you."

He left the staircase and Finnick had to pinch Johanna to get her back to reality. Her ferocious temper still didn't understand why she couldn't break this person's bones. She remembered him from her early years in this organization, when he was a young man with no mercy regarding the children that he should've taken care of; and she had hated him ever since.

Finnick seemed to notice that his friend was one step away from completely freaking out. "Come on, let's go to the labs. I'd like to see what Beetee designed for us."

Johanna grumbled, but she followed Finnick back to the elevator and to the third floor. Fortunately, he suppressed his comments about Johanna having undressed in the elevator this time.

Silently, they walked up to the lab. Finnick knocked and waited quietly. Just when Johanna wanted to tell him to knock again, louder this time, Beetee invited them to enter the room with a loud "Yes, please come in".

Finnick opened the door for Johanna to step in and then followed her. Beetee was sitting in her wheelchair, his back towards the door, apparently busy with outlining something on his tablet. To Johanna's discomfort she spotted Agent Crane standing besides the table, glaring over Beetee's shoulder with a frown and pensive eyes. _I could absolutely dispense with him._

Beetee turned around to face them and so did Agent Crane. Still, their friend's smile was way wider and Johanna actually _believed_ him being happy to see them.

"Finnick, Johanna! Great to have you here. I've been preparing some equipment for your mission."

Finnick smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you a lot, Beetee. I have no idea what we'd do without you."

His colleague laughed. "Die, probably."

That was the truth, and Johanna wasn't going to deny it. In his early years as an agent, an accident had banned Beetee into a wheelchair. Johanna didn't exactly know what had happened as he didn't like to talk about it and she understood about that better than a lot of other people did. It was, maybe, like her water thing - not something to be talked about, but still something that was with her all the time.

However, the accident had made it impossible for Beetee to continue his work as a spy. Still, he had stayed, now working in the tech department. _Someone needs to design all the expensive stuff you break all the time_ , he had said way more than one time, winking at Johanna, and she had always been thankful for his ideas.

While Beetee explained the new gadgets to Finnick, Johanna was quite occupied with trying out the new knives. They lied well in her hands and she spun them between her fingers, getting used to how they felt and how much strength she needed. In comparison the former model, the weight had been increased what made them easier to control when throwing them. All of the knives were foldable with only one hand, one of them even had an emergency equipment with a belt cutter and a glass breaker.

"I hope you like them", she heard Beetee say. "I remembered you saying about your latest knives that they were too light to throw them, so I tried to improve it. Also, in the silver one, there's a radio transmitter for you to contact us when you're endangered."

Johanna gave him a grateful nod. "Thank you, I like them a lot."

Crane cleared his throat. "We are all very thankful for Agent Three's competences, but don't be failed by this equipment. Still, we only send you to Mayfield to collect information. You will get in touch with people who know Coin, who work with or for her, but you will never take up contact with herself. You will neither fight someone nor will you try to take Agent Twelve out of this, if she's really held."

His eyes lingered on Johanna as if he knew what she had planned. "This is important, Mason. Don't put yourself and your team in danger just because of something you thought you had felt as a teenager."

Johanna didn't even answer and try to explain to him that this wasn't a stupid child crush but was in fact love. The fact that he had called her by her last name instead of her number like usually was enough for Johanna to know that this was serious. It still took all of her strength not to correct his assumptions about her relationship towards Katniss.

"So, how will we sneak in there?", she asked instead. "I assume you got plans for that."

With a nod, Crane pulled some papers out of a red folder and handed them to Finnick and Johanna. In her case, it was the full portrait of a woman that didn't exist but would probably be brought to life by Johanna for the next weeks. They always got new identities as there was always a possibility of their targets knowing the agents' names. Also, it made it easier to get in touch with them.

"We called this fictional girl Jen", Crane explained. "She is the daughter of wealthy politicians from Nevada. Still, Jen stands against her parents' views and wants to destroy the system just as the _Hanging Tree_ does. She's a quite cold and cruel person. You might be able to express those feelings better than most other agents do." He smiled wryly. "So you can get in touch with the young people that Coin controls, and collect information about what they want."

Johanna didn't say anything and just stared at the paper, trying to get the information in her head. Of course, they wanted her to play the asshole, like they always did. _Maybe because you make them think that you actually are an asshole_ , Finnick had said when she had complained about that fact some time ago. But even if Johanna was snarky and sometimes quite unpleasant, why did they always choose her to get in touch with the murderers?

"And who are you?", she asked, trying to take a look at Finnick's document.

He cleared his throat. "Sam Lawrence. Heir of a big stock company." A grimace spread over his face. "I don't even like stocks. _Come on_."

"Well, I don't think someone will ask you about stock advice. Your main job is looking good and make other rich people trust you enough to tell you how this organization works. But still, the flight will take some hours, so you'll have plenty of time to do some research about stocks."

"I thought I could sleep on the flight!"

Crane deliberately ignored Finnick's comment but Johanna could see Beetee smirk behind his superior's back. "Sam Lawrence is interested in the organization's theories and gets in touch with them on events and meetings. Even if his company doesn't exist in real life, we run websites and accounts in social media that make it look like it does, so your alibi is safe."

He cleared his throat. "And please remember to always use your fake names, no matter where you introduce yourselves. Even if something's not connected to your mission itself. We don't need another Agent Zero scandal."

A shiver ran down Johanna's spine. Even if no one knew the identity of infamous Agent Zero, one of the first Victors ever, everyone had been told about their fate. On a mission, Zero had fallen in love with a civilian and revealed their identity to their new partner. The word had spread and Zero's targets had realized who they were, starting to hunt both of them down. In the end, the couple as well as several FBI agents who had come to help had been killed off.

Sure, Johanna could understand them leaving for a partner, it was something she would do and it was something Finnick wasn't far from doing for Annie. But she wouldn't want to endanger other people just because of her decisions.

"We'll take care", she said, and Finnick added: "Don't worry."

As they left the labs, equipped with new weapons and a stack of paper, Johanna asked: "Are you ready to do this?"

Finnick smirked. "No, never."

"Good, because if you were, I'd question your sanity."

**Author's Note:**

> Has anyone recognized the agent numbers' pattern? ;)


End file.
